"But they're saying-  oof!-"  The reporter pinballs off of a cabbage salesman, who barely manages to keep a hold of his hydroponically grown brassicas, "- that your power is literally divine.  Literally!  So could you say that the people put into place are similarly placed?"

This gets a double take even from a carrot vendor.  Another vendor hurries over to Lucifer with a bag of hot peanuts, dusted with salt and some sort of spicy powder.

Oh boy, now the man got him going.

"Divinity is a much more nuanced term today when gods and demons live side by side with men than it was before the curtain fell back on Earth. Exaltations were created and given by the Incarnae and the Yozi, beings of divine cosmic power. An Exaltation is divine, the powers granted by it are divine, but an Exalt is a mortal infused with supernal power, no more, no less. An Exaltation gives many powers well beyond the realm of mortal men, but the way these powers manifest is highly dependent on the individual and it does NOT make us inherently more fit to rule, more moral, or in any way "better people". More powerful and as such more clearly useful to the Living, sure, but painting us all with the same brush, good or bad, is a bad idea. If some of us are to be Leaders of the Living, let it be because we prove ourselves worthy in deed and character, not because of a claim to some nebulous mantle of Divinity."

He emphasizes his message by taking a small handful of nuts from the merchant offering them and giving them a taste.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:56, Mon 30 July 2018.

The reporter takes the statement, and most of the Steam Market quiets long enough to hear the speech.  There's some murmurs of assent by the end, but they seem... oddly entranced watching him eat the peanuts.

Oh god, they're so spicy.  It's like they've been dusted by the capsaicin fairy.

" 'Worthy in deed and character'- excellent, thank you sir."  The reporter nods to him appreciatively, "And one last question, one last question!  Who's your favorite other Exalt to work with!"

Daniel ends up having a dramatic pause, complete with a few blinks and a little cough as the capsaicin assaults him. He keeps a poker face, though.

”Anyone who gets the job done. Good day, Mr. Gravine.”

"But who, sir?  There has to be one.  Or do you mean they're unreliable?"

Oh Sol Invictus, the burning intensifies.  The merchant watches with a bright, hopeful smile.  Now that Lucifer might be paying better attention he sees the merchant is South Asian, probably Thai.  The peanuts are delicious, yes.  They may in fact be the most delicious thing he will ever taste again.  Because his taste buds are probably gone.

No wonder all the other merchants are watching him.  This guy's peanuts must have a reputation.

"Many are reliable, but not everyone in every situation. It'd be like picking a favorite tool from the toolbox; some might be more reliable and used more often than others, but the right choice ultimately depends on the task to be accomplished."

As he steps ahead, he notes the myriad eyes on him. See, normally he'd just admit his mouth was on fire and seek out a drink of milk, but now the situation had become a challenge.

So he steels his resolve, locks eyes with the merchant, grabs some more nuts and consumes them without breaking eye contact.

((Hardiness vs. Mouth Napalm: 37+15+5+10 = 67))

"Thanks. They're good."

He throws a 'yeah, I did it' glance at the gathered crowd before resuming his stride.

"So they're tools in a toolbox, and you're the mechanic," The reporter tries out, tapping his lips with a finger.

The merchant smiles broadly as Lucifer takes a handful and eats them.  Well, this isn't a challenge to him (though the others might differ).  He looks like a little kid who's just met Santa, even after he thought he wasn't real.  The merchant starts yelling at the other merchants in Thai, pointing at one or two in particular, then at Lucifer.

The gist of it probably being something like 'I told you it's not too hot'.

Then Lucifer pushes past, but not before the merchant just shoves a whole paper bag full of them into his hands.

”Certainly not. I’m just one of the bigger tools. Don’t run too far with the analogy though, we have our own wills. My point was that it takes all kinds and my personal preferences are secondary to the common good of the Living. Now, you’ve had your few moments and I must set my mind on what I came here to do. Good day.”

He stashes the nuts - they should make a nice gift for unwanted visitors or some such. He also makes a note to get some milk or ice cream at his earliest convenience too, though.

Unless something disturbs him (and however could such a thing happen), he starts pacing through the market, multitasking his two objectives: scanning for leftover Void Demon taint with his third eye and looking for meat and condiments with the other two.

((Roll Awareness for void demon taint check))

The reporter knows well enough to leave him alone at this point.  Lucifer is finally left alone, if only for a few minutes.  Most people step away from him, giving him a bit of extra room.

Switching to his third eye is always difficult.  He's not as practiced at it as he'd like, and detecting void-tainted demons has always been a bit more difficult, doubly so because he's looking for some delicious food.

Oh, hey.  A sausage cart, with a full range of sausages on the fire!  They smell quite delicious, and the cart operator looks to be quite the shifty sort.  Usually this means they're very good sausages.

((Wu Wei for Void Taint: 29 +15 +10 = 54
Awareness for meaty goodness: 25 ))

Looking for Void taint wasn’t too bad - or rather, when it was about something actually potentially important, he had no problem giving it his best.

Casual shopping for no reason in particular was another matter, though. The last time he’d done something like this was... probably some day on Earth.

The sausage stall is the first thing he finds - or more accurately, stumbles upon - so it’d do. Otherwise people would start noticing him looking lost. He walks closer for a better look.

Wow, and... he hits jackpot.  Technically.  Twice.

Every single one of the sausages bears the faint taint of the void.

"Good evening, Mr. Matthews!"  The sausage-vender smiles at him.  He's a thin man, vaguely Grecian in appearance, with the shifty eyes of a man keeping a close eye out for the townsfolk bearing tar and feathers.  "How are you today!  Can I interest you in sausage inna bun?  Meat pie?  Chikky yakkytory?  All for half a credit, just for you, and that's stabbing me own jugular!"

Welp. Once again work steps in to ruin a promising venture in private life.

He narrows his eyes somewhat as he takes in the (enticing) smells of the cart, then locks them on the vendor.

“Could you elaborate a bit on what’s in them? I’m sensing something a bit... unusual.”

"Meat.  Real meat.  Gotten from real animal sources."  The merchant glances around as if daring someone to argue with him, "Authentic Dibblakos Mustard is just one tenth a credit.  Makes everything go down smooth!"

The chicken also is ... void chicken.  As are the pies.  ESPECIALLY the pies.  The little pot of mustard, while oddly greasy-looking, at least is otherwise clean to his eyes.

"Uh huh. And where exactly are these sources? And what's in the pies?"

He leans closer, lowering his voice. To the outside it might seem like he's just making an aggressive bargain.

"I'll do you a favor and say this quietly. I sense Void taint in your products. Co-operate and I'll do what I can to preserve your reputation and livelihood from this disaster."

A small pause and a look that cements that he's not joking and certainly not in the mood for jokes or lies. The man was probably not a Void Cultist or such, more likely someone looking to make a profit by cutting some corners, but he carefully scrutinizes the man to make sure regardless.

"Where do you get the meat from? What are the animals fed with? Where are they raised? Help me get to the source of this."

((Inspire to interrogate: 20+20+10 = 50 ... Interesting Times?
Wu Wei to read intentions: 28+15+10 = 53))
This message was last edited by the player at 21:44, Mon 06 Aug 2018.

"Void-tainted?  Now see here, I use only organic, ethically sourced, gluten-free-" He swallows as Lucifer glares at him hard enough to burn through his skull, "Right, uh, take one for the road and follow me?"

He holds up a greasy sausage hopefully.  There's a tic in his right eye.

"I can show you, uh, where my ethically sourced meat comes from.  But only show you, right?  Can't tell you out loud.  Trade secrets must be preserved."

Two people get in line behind Lucifer.

”Right. Lead on”, Daniel replies matter-of-factly and gestures for the man to lead on. The sausage finds no purchase, sadly. He was sort of getting hungry, but if there was one thing Lucifer was good at, it was neglecting his own well-being.

"Sorry, closed today," The merchant announces to the line behind Daniel, giving him a sour look.  The line groans and curses Daniel out a bit but they disperse.

He packs up his cart with deliberate care and trundles it through the Steam Market, the sausages giving off a tantalizing smell all the way.  Eventually they find a lift, and then another lift, and then a small flight of stairs... the merchant grumbles all the way.

"Fine, you wanted to see, you got it,"  He says, "I have nothing to hide.  I'd be better off stabbing my own jugular than hiding!  See, all, all organic, ethically-sourced, gluten-free..."

He trails off and opens a heavy hatch and grunts as he shoulders it open.  Then he gestures inside at the dark gloom.  It smells musty.  There's steel stairs going downward.

"I don't bring my cart inside.  Too many stairs!"

”Alright. After you.”

It wasn’t like the poor man could actually trap him for long or anything, but he wasn’t going to let his guard down just yet regardless. He keeps a close eye on the “feel” of the place as they go.

”Do you raise them yourself or buy them off of someone?”

(Wu Wei to detect possible taint: 23+15+10 = 48)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:57, Mon 06 Aug 2018.

The merchant heads down first.  As soon as he touches the top stair they hear relentless squeaking.

"Well, uh, I kind of found them," The merchant admits. "And then I just made things more... orderly?"

There are cages and cages of rats.  None of them are overcrowded, by Lucifer's estimate; the ratty smell permeates the room.  And, sure enough, every single one of them have the faint taint of the Void to them.

"Just was this room full of 'em, living in filth, so I kind of... caged them up, cull them every couple of days, you know?  Then make the sausage.  It's good protein!  And I sing to them every night, let them say their goodbyes, feed them..."

"So all of your meat comes from these rats?"

Daniel paces around the room, gauging what could've caused the rats to become tainted. Probably something they ate or some place they spend time in rather than something inherent.

"Well, yes.  Including the chicken.  Especially the chicken.  Sausage is the, err, abdominal region, and the chicken are the legs and dainty heads..."  The marchant slows down.

They're caged and all have the same level of void taint.  Either they're just naturally tainted or it's coming in here from somewhere.

"Look, nobody's had any problems, ... major problems, so what's the point?"

"Uh huh. And what kind of non-major issues have there been so far? How long have you been selling this stuff?"

He concludes his tour around the premises, looking to the man.

"The point is this is void-tainted meat. Anything remotely related to Abyssals tends to be bad for the Living in the long run. Think of it as a sort of radiation; it might not do anything the first few times, but the more you get exposed over time, the more likely you are to get issues."

"Five, six months?"  He shrugs, "I have repeat regulars.  Their... uh... non-major issues are... flatulence.  Silent, intense flatulence.  And sometimes stomachaches.  You know, the stuff you get with most sausages sold at sausage carts!"

He walks over to Lucifer and puts an arm around his shoulder.

"Look, look, Mr. Matthews, you're thinking about this all the wrong way!  First of all, I strongly suggest you take one yourself before you judge my fine customers.  I heard your stomach grumbling." He gives Lucifer a wink, "Second of all, think of it like... like... not like radiation.  Jesus knows we have plenty of that around here!  We have people living in the Wyld zones aboard the ship, on the skin of the ship, people who work with dead bodies.  There's a guy who sells blood ape steaks openly on the street down by the Grand Trunk.  The way I see it?  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."  He squeezes Lucifer's shoulder, "I'm not poisoning them.  I'm helping them build up an immunity!"

((Discovery:
7, 7, 6, 4, 3 & 2
*Inspiration:  SMOJ Dibblakos is a Paragon of Virtue 27 + Inspire 10 + Specialty 5 (Cuisine) = 42))

((Confidence: 34+20+10 = NOPE))

Daniel pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes for a moment. Then he peels the man’s arm from his shoulder and moves to grab one of the cages.

”I appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit, mr. Dibblakos. Since you’re so sure of their harmlessness, though, I’m sure you won’t mind getting some hard evidence for it. I’ll have some unbiased researchers take a look at your ethical luxury meat. If they deem them harmless or close enough to it, you’ll get an official statement about it. If not, you’ll have to switch sources, methods of refinement or jobs. I’m sure doing what’s right beats an easy credit after all, eh?”

((Counter-Discovery: Influence: Cutting corners is cutting profits, doing good is where the money’s at: 37 +15 WW +10 AB = 63))

He heads back outside, fiddling with his phone as he sends for someone to get the samples off of him. He pauses by the parked sausage wagon, dropping a small but fair amount of cash on it.

”To compensate for the loss of material. I could take a sample of the finished product as well, now that I think of it.”

((Defense:
10, 8, 6, 4, 2 & 1
... hahahah
*Defense 18 + Confidence 15 = 33
*A Minor Inspiration Bonus or a Trivial Inspiration Penalty))

"Absolutely, go ahead and take them," He gestures at a cage of four brown rats, squeaking plaintively at Lucifer.  "And you're right, you're right.  Doing what's right means better sausage!"

He looks at the cash with a glint in his eye. "And absolutely.  Here's your order-" He puts a sausage inna bun and hands it to Lucifer, then gestures at the mustard.  It smells inordinately delicious, even though they still glow with the faint taint of the Void.  "-I'll need to tend to the cages.  They need to be fatter!  Plumper!  Grow up in a better living environment!  I need to think less like a beef cow, and more like wagyu!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:54, Sat 11 Aug 2018.